Late
by Kellen
Summary: Hitsugaya has an appointment to keep, and it seems something is conspiring to keep him from being there. [vague spoilers for current manga arc]


_**Late  
**by Kellen  
a Bleach fanfiction_

_Summary: Hitsugaya has an appointment to keep, and it seems something is conspiring to keep him from being there._

_Rating: T, some violence_

_Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and settings are property of Kubo Tite. I am not him, and I make no money from this._

_Author's Notes: I'm taking liberties again. I do that a lot. Vague spoilers for the current arc of the manga. In my world, the shinigami have to occasionally see each other and hammer out a few things, so they get periodic meetings. XP It's a random excuse for a random, plotless action-y piece. I hope you enjoy.

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"Hitsugaya Toushirou."

He would not cringe because cringing was beneath him, but he couldn't keep his eyebrow from twitching. Something about the way that woman said his name set his teeth on edge. There was just enough subtle sarcasm imbued in her tone that made him think she was mocking him, but not overt enough that he could call her on it.

Even then, he was supposedly her student and, therefore, under her authority.

He looked up after schooling his features into a calm mask, hands neatly folding atop the closed textbook on his desk. Two could play this game. "Yes, ma'am?" he said calmly. He heard someone snort behind him – Ikkaku, he thought – and then yelp quietly in pain. He filed the distraction away and silently promised he'd thank whoever had quieted Ikkaku, and focused on the woman at the front of the classroom.

The rest of the students filed out of the classroom, and his fellow shinigami-masquerading-as-students didn't give him a backward glance. This had happened too many times since they'd infiltrated the school; Hitsugaya had put leading this ragtag group first and, consequently, his teachers believed he was lazy and arrogant.

Lazy he was not.

The teacher sighed, looking appropriately concerned and worn. "Toushirou, we've talked before." She walked toward his desk, where he still sat primly. (Pride demanded he make her move toward him.) She sighed again, this time looking sorrowful, and sat down in the empty desk in front of him. "I won't keep you long," she promised.

Hitsugaya barely refrained from making a remark about having his own problems to deal with outside of school. She'd take it entirely the wrong way, and then he'd be dealing with an overly helpful human trying to make his life easier.

"I'm sorry I have to keep harping on this, but you haven't left me a choice." He opened his mouth to speak, chafing at the show of authority over him, but she kept talking. "I believe you are an intelligent young man, Toushirou. I really do, but I cannot understand why – "

"My reasons are not for you to understand," he snapped, and watched in grim satisfaction as she recoiled.

She swallowed. "Perhaps not," she continued gamely, "but please remember that your schooling is as important as anything else."

Hitsugaya frowned, drawing back a little. He'd forgotten himself with that last comment; forgotten she was the figure with authority here. "Of course," he said quietly, as meekly as he could manage. "I'll remember you said that."

She bit her lip and hesitated before she spoke again. "Look, Toushirou, there's something about you, you know that? You could be so much more than this. I really hope you live up to your potential. I just don't want to see you fall by the wayside."

Hitsugaya forced away all the biting comments that rose, and instead looked down at his still clasped hands. He tried for abashed meekness, but what came out was barely restrained annoyance. "I appreciate your concern with my well-being, Teacher." He looked up, trying to soften the lines in his face. "If you'll excuse me?"

She waved a hand, slouching in defeat. "Go, go. Do whatever it is you deem so important that you forget about your education."

He stood up, and bowed quickly – almost mockingly – and thanked her for her time.

Matsumoto was waiting for him outside the classroom. She lounged against the wall next to the door, arms crossed under her chest, and her head leaning against the wall. When he walked out and past her, she merely pushed herself off the wall and fell into step just behind and to the side of him. "That's getting to be a regular occurrence," she said after a few steps.

He snorted. "Will you lecture me as well, Matsumoto?"

She shook her head. "Of course not, Captain." She winced and looked around to see if anyone had heard her gaffe. "Hitsugaya, I mean."

He shook his head, dismissing her mistake. "You've told everyone to meet at Urahara's?"

"Everyone who's anyone will be there."

They stopped at the lockers near the door, exchanging their slippers for shoes. "Hitsugaya," she said finally, mindful of the students milling around them. He looked up, one hand still holding his slippers. "You'd think you'd be more used to people questioning your authority, what with me around," she finished quietly, smiling.

He rolled his eyes and shoved the slippers into his locker, grunting in acknowledgement. "I appreciate the thought, Matsumoto," he answered gruffly, "but I do not need to be coddled."

Matsumoto was silent for a moment before speaking again. "Look," she said, her voice low and uncertain, "we're all having a tough time, Captain. You can relax around us, and just be you."

"You're crossing the line."

She backed up a step, hands held up. Her wide eyes and frown melted into a grin. "Just watching out for my cute Ca-" She stopped, blinking at the students who were watching them. "Cousin," she finished. "You're my cousin."

"Idiot," he hissed as he grabbed her arm and steered her out the door.

Once outside, he let go. "Urahara's. Don't forget."

"I won't," she said. "I'll meet you there; I promised Orihime I'd help her out for a little while this afternoon."

They passed through the school gates, each going their separate ways. Hitsugaya watched her as she walked away for a moment, shaking his head as she disappeared from view. His Vice Captain tried his patience in the best of times.

Still, he knew he wouldn't trade her for anyone else.

Hitsugaya checked the time, and found that he had some time before he had to be at Urahara's. It might do him good to wander a little bit and try to clear his head. He'd found that trying to fit into the Living World and protect it at the same time was wearing on his nerves and he had been more snappish than usual as of late. He knew that, not too far from the school, there was a small canal filled with flowing water. That, he decided, might be just the thing he needed to calm his nerves.

He turned in that direction, deftly avoiding the late afternoon crowd and ducking through narrow streets and finally crossing the busy street. He slid down the embankment, almost cherishing the feel of dirt and grass under his feet instead of tile and concrete. He stopped next to the canal, and just looked into the flowing water. He didn't look around but kept tabs on all the activity, letting his senses feed him a picture of the area around him.

It felt… good, even through the barrier of the gigai. He'd been relying on his eyes too much.

Before long, however, the sheer number of people and things around him started to grate on his nerves and he brought his barriers up again. He crossed his arms, concentrating on the sound of water, imagining it flowing over, around him until he felt centered.

It wasn't working. He frowned; there was a sense of… hostility too near. He looked up, gazing about, and hoping that whoever was feeling particularly violent was up on the street and not coming his way. He didn't feel any malevolent spirits around and the one spirit he could feel was harmless; he'd have to come back later for a soul burial.

"That's him."

The words were gruff and foreboding, jarring Hitsugaya from his pensiveness. The captain looked up, eyes narrowed, to find three men bearing down on him.

"Oi, Whitey," the one on the right called, pointing at him with a length of wood in his hand. "We got something to talk about with you."

Hitsugaya uncrossed his arms and glared at them while inwardly berating himself. Had he not been so wrapped up in trying to blame all the hostile feelings on ghosts, he might have seen these guys before they got this close to him.

"Don't talk, do you?" This was from the one in the middle. He stopped, the other two a step behind. They were only a few feet away.

Hitsugaya watched them with a bored expression.

The middle one huffed irritably. "Fine, then. You got something we want."

Hitsugaya quirked a brow and tensed. He really had no desire to see what his gigai was capable of, and shedding the faux body and attacking with Hyourinmaru was out of the question.

For just a moment, he thought that maybe he should have just walked with Matsumoto.

"Damn, I think maybe the bleach he used on his hair took out what brain he might have had, too." The one on the right spoke in slow, measured tones. "We want your money, little boy."

Hitsugaya didn't have time to answer the jibe. The man on the left twitched, reaching under his jacket. Hitsugaya stepped away from him, tensing.

It was the man on the right who attacked, swinging the length of wood with a yell. Hitsugaya whirled, bringing his left arm up, and yelped as the wood connected, and then splintered. He was knocked off-balance and had just managed to get his feet back under him when a fist connected just above his jaw.

He danced backward, finally dropping to one knee and shaking his head. He cursed the gigai quietly and turned to find the thugs again. Two were advancing, while the third hung back.

Hitsugaya rolled his neck and wiped his split lip with the back of his hand, grimacing as the taste of blood. He flexed his fingers, noting the scrapes and splinters on the back of his left hand. His left forearm was cut deeply in several places, and he eyed the offending plank of wood. Knocking it aside with his arm may not have been the best thing done, but it was infinitely better than taking a hit on the side of his head. Even so, the thug had knocked him down.

Said thug was going to pay for that. Hitsugaya lashed out with a kick and, as expected, the thug dodged it. Hitsugaya, already making use of the opening, landed a fierce punch to the thug's stomach, and sneered in grim satisfaction as the tall man doubled over. Hitsugaya spun, and drove him to the ground with an elbow to his temple.

The other man launched himself at Hitsugaya. The shinigami sidestepped, ducking out of the way. He threw a punch, aiming for the charging thug's sternum, but he was knocked off balance as a hand closed around his ankle.

His last opponent wasn't as unconscious as Hitsugaya had thought. He pulled Hitsugaya's ankle out from under him and, instead of fighting it, Hitsugaya let himself pitch forward, curling in on himself as he dodged the charging man's attack. He hit the ground hard, scraping his palms against the concrete. Without letting himself be distracted, he rolled onto his back, kicking free of the thug's grasp, grabbed a piece of the wood that had earlier splintered against his arm and surged to his feet.

The second man spun around, already throwing a wild punch. Hitsugaya ducked under it and stepped back, putting some distance between himself and the thug on the ground. The second man responded by pressing closer, letting loose a flurry of punches that Hitsugaya dodged easily. He ducked to the side, bringing the piece of wood up in a two handed swing.

The wood caught the man in the side, and he stumbled. Hitsugaya took the opportunity and lashed out with a kick to the man's knees and followed with a quick punch to his face. The man went down with a cry, clutching at his nose.

Hitsugaya eyed them for a moment, the piece of wood still dangling from his hand. He looked up at the third man, who was standing with his jaw agape. "Was there anything else you needed?"

There was a grunt from somewhere to his left and Hitsugaya glanced down, and then to the thug that still lay on the ground. With a disgusted snort, he lifted his foot and then ground it into the hand that was creeping toward his ankle. He threw the length of wood down. "Try following me," he told them as he turned and trudged up the embankment.

He needed to get cleaned up before the meeting. After all the grief he'd given Abarai and Ikkaku about getting into fights, the last thing he needed to do was show up with a bloodied lip and arm and dirty clothes. He paused for a moment on the sidewalk, debating the prudence of stopping off at Inoue's first. Matsumoto would be there, and she was one person he didn't want to face at the moment.

He could trust her to keep whatever secrets he charged her to keep, but he could also trust her to try to blackmail him with those same secrets when he least expected it.

Better not to give her opportunity.

Urahara's it was. He knew Renji was off on a patrol, so the store should be blessedly empty of Vice Captains and third seats Hitsugaya did not want to see right away.

He set off down the sidewalk at a good clip, turning to make his way down quieter streets after a few blocks. If he cut across the park a few blocks ahead, he could save a good fifteen minutes and arrive at the store in plenty of time to clean up a little. He quickened his pace and, when he arrived, hopped over the small park fence and jogged across the grass. He skirted past the playground, sparing a glance for the deserted equipment – the merry-go-round was still spinning slowly, creakily – and allowing himself a small shake of the head. Human children were beyond him, he thought sometimes. Their penchant for self-torture – that merry-go-round thing a shining example of such – made him wonder how they ever became adults.

He was just past the merry-go-round when he stopped suddenly. He turned slowly, searching. It rolled through the park, this malevolent feeling, roiling and twisting around him. Hitsugaya reached out quickly and stopped the slowly spinning merry-go-round. He turned his head, peering into the trees.

The hollow was there, watching him.

A childish peal of laughter diverted his attention. His eyes widened as three children entered the park. One of them – a somewhat small boy – hesitated, looking around.

The hollow in the trees moved.

Hitsugaya did only a moment later. He slid to a stop in front of the kids. "Turn around," he told them, "and run home."

The larger boy blinked and then started to speak. The smaller boy shook his head and started tugging his companion's arm. "No, he's right," the small boy said. "There's something here; I don't like it here right now."

The bigger boy hesitated. Hitsugaya shoved him firmly back the way he'd come. "Just go, would you?"

"You know what happens when he gets these feelings," the third child – a petite girl – said.

Hitsugaya ignored them for a moment, his attention back on the hollow. He could see its outline now, crouching low beneath the trees, swaying back and forth.

The kid finally nodded. "Yeah, yeah, you're right. We're going, mister." He turned around, herding the other two in front of him and jogging away. He turned around, calling out to Hitsugaya. "Look, you leave too. Be careful."

Hitsugaya looked over his shoulder. "Just get far away," he called back.

The kid nodded and turned, grabbing his friends' hands as they ran.

The hollow sprang after them, scuttling along the ground, grimacing in disgust. This hollow was scorpion-shaped, with a long curved tail that ended in a menacing tip. Four powerful legs moved quickly, while pincers clacked loudly in front of an empty white mask.

Hitsugaya put his hand in his pocket. His gigai wasn't up to facing down a hollow as quick as this one was; the Soul Candy he carried was his only option. His eyes widened. He checked his other pocket, cursing quietly. He knew he'd had it earlier; he always kept it on him. It dawned on him even as he ran forward to intercept the hollow. The idiots that had tried to mug him… The dispenser of Soul Candy must have fallen out of his pocket during the fight.

His feet slipped on the grass and he caught himself with one hand, and surged forward again. He brought his hands up, palms outward, and a ball of red fire shot toward the hollow.

The hollow faltered, screaming in anger and pain as the fire engulfed one of its legs. It stumbled, pincers opening and closing angrily as it turned to find Hitsugaya.

Hitsugaya wasn't watching it; instead he watched the kids disappear around a corner. It was only after he couldn't see them anymore that he turned his gaze back to the hollow. There was a moment of stillness and Hitsugaya could easily sense it gauging his power. The hollow shifted, settling into a crouch, its tail swaying. Hitsugaya brought his hands up again.

And promptly cursed.

He'd forgotten the limitations of the gigai again. It had been a long time since he'd actually had to chant that kidou spell.

The hollow pounced, pincers open and spread wide. Hitsugaya leapt to the side, landing in a crouch as the hollow hit the ground where he'd been. Its pincers dug furrows in the dirt, sending clods of it flying up and around it. Hitsugaya raised his arm, protecting his face from the shower of soil. He spun on his heels, turning to raise his palms to the hollow. There was one spell he knew he could do quickly.

The hollow shrieked and sidled away from him. Its tail swung toward him, and Hitsugaya aborted the kidou to leap away.

He wasn't quite fast enough. The barb caught his leg below the knee and ripped a deep gash along his calf. He landed awkwardly, his right leg folded underneath him. A pincer came down toward him and he rolled. He came up to his knees and held his hands in front of him, letting another shot of red flame fly.

Hitsugaya stumbled to his feet, chanting a kidou spell as he moved. He slid to a stop in front the hollow, palms pointed toward its mask.

The hollow turned, bringing its tail back to swing again.

Hitsugaya finished the chant, and eyes narrowed, activated the spell. Brilliant light engulfed the hollow, and it didn't have to time to scream before it disintegrated.

Hitsugaya let his hands drop. Without thinking much about it, he started forward again, intent on getting back on track.

He was going to be late for a meeting, and he still had a park to cut through.

It didn't take him long before he realized he was still in a bit of trouble.

Hitsugaya's right leg threatened to fold under him, tingling uncomfortably beneath the pain. He reached out, catching a bar on the merry-go-round before he fell. He allowed himself a moment to close his eyes and shake his head. "It had venom," he muttered. His gaze wavered between the sidewalk and the street and the trees further in the park. He briefly considered heading back into the more populated areas, but discarded that idea quickly. Hollow venom was not something the general public knew how to treat, and if he collapsed in the midst of a group of humans…

It would be troublesome.

He pushed off the merry-go-round, setting it to spinning slowly, and hobbled toward the trees.

In retrospect, he wasn't sure how he made it so far; Urahara's wasn't, in actuality, all that far from the park, but with a hollow's venom coursing through him and a deep and painful gash limiting him, he felt like it might as well be in Hueco Mundo itself.

When he limped into the store's yard, he could barely put any weight at all on his leg and the black spots dancing in his blurred vision were more than annoying. Without thinking, he tried to wipe the spots away. The movement only unbalanced him and he fell to his knees.

He thought he heard someone say something, but it sounded too far away to be certain. He pushed himself to his feet again and hobbled forward. He only made it a couple more steps before he pitched forward.

Arms wrapped around his chest and kept him from hitting the ground. Surprised, Hitsugaya craned his neck and looked over his shoulder. "Abarai," he muttered.

Renji grinned irreverently. Before he could speak, a second pair of hands settled on Hitsugaya's shoulders. "Well, well." The voice trailed off and Hitsugaya blinked, unable to quite focus on Urahara's face. "What's the problem here?"

Hitsugaya's mouth opened and closed a couple times before he was able to speak. "Venom," he mumbled.

Urahara nodded. "Right, then." Suddenly he grinned. "If you'll check your dignity at the door, Captain, I'll have Renji bring you inside and we'll take care of things."

The captain blinked. "Dignity?"

Urahara's smile turned, in Hitsugaya's mind, sinister. "Why, yes. Everyone's already here, and we're going to have to carry you inside, you know."

Hitsugaya couldn't help but groan. A hand patted his shoulder gently. "Don't you worry, Captain. You'll be up and around and defending your honor in no time."

Hitsugaya finally gave in and let his eyelids flutter closed when Abarai picked him up. With any luck, he'd be unconscious by the time they were inside.

With a little more luck, no one would notice their entrance.

He had a reputation to uphold, after all.

_The End_

_I hope you enjoyed the ride._

_Cheers,_

_Kel_


End file.
